LOGANVILLE — These days, just about everything in Vernon Hershberger’s life is going the way he scripted it.You can see it in his smile as the organic farmer plays with one of his 10 children, or the confidence with which he sells raw milk to a member of his buyers club.It’s a 180-degree turn for the man who was at the center of a raw milk controversy about 13 months ago. Facing the possibility of jail time after a state agency charged him with crimes related to unlicensed sales, Hershberger instead became the face of the growing raw milk industry in Wisconsin and the nation. He was acquitted on three of the four charges in a Sauk County courtroom last June.“I got my life back,” said Hershberger, 43.He was charged with producing milk, operating a dairy plant without a license and selling food at a retail establishment, as well as violating a holding order placed on his products by the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection after a raid at his farm in 2010. That created a stage for raw, or unpasteurized, milk proponents to tout its health benefits and for opponents to warn of its health risks. They argued straight through the trial that ended with acquittals on all charges but the holding order.Hershberger said raw milk sales have increased exponentially as membership in his buyers club, Grazin Acres LLC, has grown about 25 percent to about 325 families since the landmark case ended . He was convicted only of one misdemeanor, for violating the holding order.“Just last week a couple came out here for the first time, but they said they watched the trial and have been interested ever since,” said the soft-spoken Hershberger, who last weekend drew hundreds of visitors to his farm for an annual ice cream social. “So we’re still seeing the after-effects of the trial.”Nationally, enforcement actions on raw milk farms are down dramatically, advocates said. In Wisconsin, DATCP legal counsel Cheryl Daniels was not aware of any cases investigated by her department that have risen to the level of enforcement action since the trial, according to agency spokeswoman Raechelle Cline.“My case was kind of a turning point,” Hershberger said. “But they might try again. Who knows?”In Wisconsin, raw milk’s critics and advocates seem content to abide by the line drawn in the sand that limits raw milk sales to buyers clubs like Grazin Acres.A bill authored by state Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-Campbellsport, to expand raw milk sales has stalled. Meantime, DATCP officials and others who believe raw, or unpasteurized, milk is potentially dangerous to drink because it could contain deadly bacteria have been quiet.“The law is still what it is and we will continue to enforce what we can under the law as it is written,” Cline said.That’s the stance that the Wisconsin Safe Milk Coalition is taking, too. “The science hasn’t changed on this thing and neither have the politics in this state,” said spokesman Shawn Pfaff. “We still believe Gov. (Scott) Walker has concerns about any bill that comes to his desk.”It has been so quiet on the protest front that Liz Reitzig, a raw milk advocate from Virginia who was in Baraboo in June 2013 for Hershberger’s trial and spent time last year in other parts of the country for similar trials, has spent the summer at home.“Thanks to Vernon,” said Reitzig, “it has been an enjoyable summer with my children.”It’s been a quiet summer for Hershberger, too, except for when members stop by or the occasional truck roars by on Highway 23.“It has allowed us to regroup as a family,” he said. “It lets us worry about other things than staying out of jail.”Even though he is selling more milk, Hershberger said he hasn’t increased his herd of 35 cows.“The pigs and chickens just don’t get as much milk to drink anymore,” he said.The only news Hershberger has made this summer was when a state appeals court on July 17 upheld the single conviction from last year’s trial. That resulted in a $1,000 fine that was paid by friends, Hershberger said.Friends are also helping Hershberger recover from a fire last year that destroyed a barn and most of his equipment. The cost to rebuild was estimated at $175,000, Hershberger said.A fundraiser for the Hershbergers has been scheduled for Aug. 26 at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. Joel Salatin, an outspoken organic farmer from Virginia, is the featured speaker.Meanwhile, Hershberger has found a way to give back. One of his sons has become a volunteer firefighter after watching what he said were the heroic efforts of firefighters to save his farm from further damage.“That’s another circle of friends,” Hershberger added.It’s a circle that he said also includes Sauk County sheriff’s deputies that he met during the raids, government officials and some jurors from the trial.“My goal before the trial wasn’t to win. My goal was to start relationships, and that has happened,” Hershberger said.“Since the trial, relationships were started between farmers, people who want good food and the government. It’s a start in the right direction.”

]]>Wed, 23 Jul 2014 10:21:38 GMThttp://www.vernonhershberger.com/in-the-news/hershberger-appeal-deniedBy Jan ShepelWisconsin State FarmerJuly 22, 2014 | MADISONA Loganville dairy farmer — who became the face of the raw milk and food freedom debate in Sauk County court last year — has lost his appeal for the courts to reverse a misdemeanor conviction.Vernon Hershberger, who runs a dairy farm and food club in Sauk County, was the subject of a weeklong jury trial in the Sauk County Circuit Court in May 2013.Jurors found him not guilty on three charges related to not having certain food licenses, but guilty on the fourth charge of violating a holding order imposed by state food safety inspectors.In statements and press conferences, jurors who had heard the case said they wished they had found him not guilty on all charges — based on things they learned after the trial but which they were not allowed to hear during the trial.The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on July 17 upheld the misdemeanor conviction for violating the holding order imposed by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection's food safety division.Hershberger and several food freedom groups that helped him with his legal campaign appealed the one guilty verdict.They argued that Judge Guy Reynolds, who set the rules for the original trial in the pre-trial rulings, prohibited Hershberger from introducing evidence that there was no factual basis for the state to issue the holding order.As part of the evidence to the appeals court, they introduced an intact version of the holding order — without the blacked-out sections ordered by the trial court.The holding order prohibited Hershberger and his wife, Erma, from selling dairy products from their farm's "pantry" while the 14-day holding order was in force. During the trial last May both admitted they had done so, because they hate to waste food.In pre-trial decisions, Hershberger and his lawyers were prohibited from attacking the holding order. It was also decided that the term "raw milk" could not be used during the trial.Last week the appeals court upheld the decisions made by the trial judge. That means Hershberger is guilty of the holding order violation and could face jail time. He was fined $1,000 and court costs.The appeals court ruled that Hershberger could have used a process to contest the holding order at the time it was issued, under a system in place at DATCP and other state agencies, but didn't do so.The farmer argued that he didn't have any way of knowing his rights under various appeals processes in state agencies.During the appeals process, his attorneys also argued that the pre-trial motions from the trial judge denied the farmer his Constitutional right to put on a defense. But the appeals court did not agree with that argument.One guilty verdictHershberger's trial in May 2013 became a cause celeb for raw milk and food freedom advocates who came to Baraboo to support the farmer and his family.Hershberger's father, who still adheres to Amish beliefs and lifestyles, came from Ohio to testify at the trial. Others came from as far away as Vermont to support Hershberger.A number of his "food club" members sat through the entire trial and made meals for the Hershberger family.His supporters were ecstatic when the jury issued three "not guilty" decisions and his defense team announced they would appeal the one misdemeanor "guilty" decision.The case was pursued by attorneys from the Department of Justice and DATCP when Sauk County's district attorney declined to prosecute Hershberger.What many had called the "raw milk" trial ended up being contested over key points of licensing rather than religion or peoples' freedom to choose what foods they want to eat.Pre-trial motions had limited what would be allowed as testimony during the trial.Hershberger supporters criticized those pre-trial rulings this week in the wake of the appeals court decision. Andy Mastrocola, founder of Food Freedom USA said those rulings — and the heavily blacked-out documents Hershberger tried to use in his defense — prevented the jury from getting both sides of the story.Wisconsin Department of Justice spokeswoman Dana Brueck commented on the court's ruling, saying "This appeal is not a referendum on the desirability of on-the-farm sales of raw milk products."Rather, it involves the ways in which a defendant may — and may not — challenge a (state) holding order."Attorney commentsWisconsin-based attorney Elizabeth Rich, Vice President of the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund was Hershberger's chief legal counsel.She commented to Mastrocola's Food Freedom USA that the appeals court decision continues what she considers a "disturbing trend toward empowering administrative agencies" that allows them to exercise their authority unchecked.Decisions in the courts have prevented any "meaningful review" of agency actions, she adds.Rich said the holding order in the Hershberger case called the dairy products "misbranded" and "adulterated" and included the statutory definition of those terms including the statement that the products were "dangerous to human health."The attorney said all of that information was blacked out in the order before it was shown to the jury.She argued that the jury should have had the opportunity to review the unredacted order, and that Hershberger was prevented from putting on a defense when this information was withheld from the jury.]]>Sat, 19 Jul 2014 12:30:17 GMThttp://www.vernonhershberger.com/in-the-news/sauk-county-dairy-farmer-loses-raw-milk-appealBy Rick Barrett of the Journal Sentinel

A Sauk County farmer has lost his appeal on a misdemeanor conviction stemming from the sale of raw milk at his farm.The 4th District Appeals Court on Thursday agreed with a ruling by the Sauk County Circuit Court against Loganville dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger.Last year he was found guilty of one count of violating a holding order placed on products at his farm after a June 2010 raid by state regulators that was meant to shut down his business.Hershberger said he engaged in an act of civil disobedience when he cut seals that state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection officials placed on coolers and shelves to keep him from distributing food products, including raw milk, to members of the farm's private buying club.He posted an Internet video of himself titled "breaking the seals," which showed him opening chest freezers in the store that had been locked down by the holding order.Hershberger's case was the first of its kind in Wisconsin, according to state officials who prosecuted him for not having licenses for his dairy operations and violating the holding order placed on products in his food store.In a jury trial that gained national attention, Hershberger was found not guilty of all the charges except the misdemeanor related to the holding order.He appealed the conviction, which carried a $1,000 fine, with his attorneys arguing that he wouldn't have been found guilty had the jury been allowed to consider evidence that could have shown there was no basis for issuing the holding order."We wanted the jury to have the opportunity to hear that evidence and evaluate it themselves," said Elizabeth Rich, one of Hershberger's attorneys.The appeals court decision "continues a disturbing trend of the growth of (state) agency power, the decline of judicial power and the ability of agencies to exercise their authority unchecked," Rich said.The appeals court said the lower court properly prohibited Hershberger from introducing the evidence, which included an unedited copy of the holding order."The redacted language of the holding order, identifying the factual basis for issuing the order, was not relevant to any issue properly before the jury in this case," the appeals court noted.State officials agreed with the decision."This appeal is not a referendum on the desirability of on-the-farm sales of raw milk products. Rather, it involves the ways in which a defendant may — and may not — challenge a DATCP holding order. We agree with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals' conclusions on point," said Dana Brueck, a state Department of Justice spokeswoman.Hershberger could not be reached for comment Thursday, and it's unknown whether he still has a buying club that sells raw milk — the issue that largely attracted the attention of state officials.With little exception, state law prohibits the sale of unpasteurized milk to the public because it may carry bacteria that cause illnesses.Raw-milk advocates say changing the law could give people access to fresh, unprocessed milk that contains beneficial bacteria. Opponents say there are no health benefits from unpasteurized milk that can't be obtained safely from pasteurized dairy products such as yogurt.Currently, state officials say, they don't have any open investigations into illegal sales of raw milk. "Nothing has been brought to our attention," said DATCP spokesman James Dick.Legislation to legalize raw milk sales stalled in 2013 but is likely to come back, according to some legislators. "Over time, more and more people will demand it, and ultimately the politicians will follow," said Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-Campbellsport).The Hershberger case was largely heralded as a victory for raw milk supporters but hasn't resulted in other Wisconsin farmers challenging the state's authority."I think farmers are afraid because our government is behaving in kind of a heavy-handed fashion, in my opinion," said Vince Hundt, a raw milk supporter from Coon Valley.

CHRISTINA L DEAN was located this morning walking in the area of Emerson and Sherwood. A citizen called our department and Officers are with CHRISTINA now.

Thank you Community of Beloit for being watchful and helping us out.

Vernon Hershberger volunteers to assist in the search of a Beloit area swamp for a missing woman. Watch the interview with Vernon below courtesy of CBS Channel 58 News.

Anyone with information may call Beloit police at 608-364-6801 or Beloit Area CrimeStoppers, 608-362-7463. Or text to 274637 and type BACS and the message.﻿Information leading to locating the subject may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.﻿

BELOIT-From what police can tell, 36 year old Christina Dean left her home around 9 p.m. Saturday with just the clothes on her back.Her mother has come up from Florida to implore the public for help in the search. "She has a son that's four and one that's six," mother Nancy Chamberlin told CBS 58 News. "They pray that God will bring their mommy back."On Tuesday afternoon, a group of about a dozen friends split up and searched a wooded area near Beloit for any possible trace."Under bridges is normally a place people could be," Vernon Hershberger said. "So we want to check out all those places."

Hershberger admitted he's just a farmer, and that the volunteers are friends with no real experience in finding missing people, but they felt they had to give it a try.

]]>Tue, 15 Apr 2014 10:48:14 GMThttp://www.vernonhershberger.com/in-the-news/more-battling-than-policy-changes-mark-2014-state-raw-milk-actionBY DAN FLYNN | APRIL 14, 2014There are still multiple endings that could be put on the raw-milk story told during the 2014 state legislative season.One popular theory is that the foodies and libertarians have joined hands in a great coalition to pass bills to legalize unpasteurized milk across the land. These theorists point to 40 bills introduced in 23 statehouses during the current legislative season. Another possibility is that not all that much has changed in 2014 except for the fact that raw milk advocates are now more visibly split in their ranks on the direction their movement should take.After Wisconsin’s “raw milk outlaw” Vernon Hershberger was found not guilty of operating without various licenses at the infamous Baraboo trial last year, his vocal opposition to GOP state Sen. Glenn Grothman’s bill to make licensed raw milk sales legal in Wisconsin became symbolic of the split.All states are equal, but not when it comes to raw milk. Wisconsin is America’s dairy state, with around $30 billion of pasteurized milk sales. After Hershberger came out against Grothman’s bill for raw milk sales that involved some licensing and regulation, the bill went nowhere and is now officially dead.Before the 2010 elections, the Wisconsin Legislature did make raw milk sales legal. However, Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed the bill and Grothman has since failed to get another raw milk bill passed.And the fact is the 2014 legislative season is already over in 19 states that either do not usually meet in election years or that have already adjourned. Another seven states join that list in just a few days. Except for the half-dozen states with year-round legislative bodies, most of the rest are shut down by mid-May.It is unlikely there will be any addition to the handful of states that permit raw milk to be sold at retail. The fights are mostly over regulatory tweaks and policies on farm sales and so-called cow-share schemes.With raw milk bills like these going back and forth, the tightening versus liberalization battle is more like the trench warfare of World War 1. When every legislative season is over, there are usually some slight changes back and forth, but not much in the way of wholesale changes.The two sides have their lines of debate down pat. Opponents tell how time and transportation of raw milk raise the risks that the harmful bacteria contained in unpasteurized milk pose real dangers to consumers, especially children. They have data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and horror stories on videotape told by raw milk victims and their grieving parents.Advocates of raw milk talk about “food freedom” and do not lack for testimonials from folks who drank raw milk all their lives and offer theories about how pasteurization kills bacteria in milk, but also ................continue reading]]>Tue, 31 Dec 2013 11:19:08 GMThttp://www.vernonhershberger.com/in-the-news/hershberger-trial-was-top-story-of-2013Tim Damos News RepublicVernon Hershberger displays products from the pantry. Photo by: Andrew Mastrocola Founder FoodFreedomUSA.org

Nearly three years after a state agency raided his Loganville farm and put a halt on production, Vernon Hershberger had his day in court.The raw milk farmer's jury trial -- which began in May and lasted one week -- drew observers from around the country. It was followed by news outlets, bloggers, and right-to-farm advocates far and wide.Hershberger was charged with multiple licensing violations and violating a hold order that state officials placed on his products after they raided his farm in June 2010.Regulators denied the raid had anything to do with Hershberger's production of raw milk, although it came only weeks after then-Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill that would have permitted limited sales of the product.Hershberger's legal team contended he was exempt from the licensing requirements that ordinarily apply to milk producers and retail store operators.His products were available only to those registered as "members" of continue reading

Loganville farmer Vernon Hershberger went to court and beat criminal charges for selling unpasteurized, raw milk and other farm-fresh goods directly to customers without proper state licenses.But he’s not in favor of a bill that would legalize raw milk sales in Wisconsin. If the bill passes, he would be turned into a criminal, Hershberger said Thursday.“The jury in Baraboo acquitted me of the charges,” Hershberger said. “If I’m allowed to do it (sell unpasteurized diary without a permit), all other farmers should be allowed to do it as well. I will be another criminal because the jury freed me of having to have a license to do what I’m doing.”Hershberger, who testified against the bill during a public hearing Wednesday, sells unpasteurized dairy and other food products from his farm through a program known as a buyer’s club.A buyer’s club, known in other parts of the country as a cow-sharing or a herd-leasing program, allows farmers to enter into private contracts with consumers to essentially co-own animals on the farm. The consumer then has access to the milk or meat produced by the animal.The raw milk bill, sponsored by Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, and Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, would require farmers who sell raw milk to meet or exceed Grade A standards just like farmers who sell to dairy processing plants. Hershberger did not renew his Grade A license three years ago when he made the decision to quit selling his milk to a dairy processing plant and instead sell raw milk through a buyer’s club business model.Hershberger said the jury made it clear it was his right to sell raw milk without a license, without having to register with the state and without having to meet standards.“I’m allowed to do what I do without a license,” Hershberger said. “And those with a Grade A license are not allowed to do what I do.”Another public hearing on the raw milk bill will be held in La Crosse on Monday. Rep. Fred Clark, D-Baraboo, will testify at that hearing. Another co-sponsor of the raw milk bill, Clark said he plans to speak about a separate bill that would remove any ambiguity over the legality of buyer’s clubs.Because the charges against Hershberger were criminal and not civil, the not-guilty verdict applies only to him. That leaves a gray area over whether other farmers would be charged for operating buyer’s clubs.“My bill is more narrowly crafted and would legalize buyer’s clubs,” Clark said at the Capitol, outside the raw milk hearing Wednesday.In contrast, the raw milk bill would allow for farmers to sell directly to consumers if certain criteria are met. Clark’s bill legalizes an alternate business model for raw milk to be sold.Under Clark’s draft bill, farmers who operate a buyer’s club would not need to get a Grade A license from the state, just a buyer’s club permit.“We are replicating California standards for unpasteurized raw milk sales,” Clark said. “We are not letting (the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection) write the rules.”One difference is that California allows for the retail sale of raw milk. Clark’s bill would not.The state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection had been promoting the creation of the buyer’s clubs as a means for farmers to earn additional income.But that changed in May of 2010 when former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle abruptly changed course and vetoed a bill that would have legalized raw milk sales. A month later Hershberger’s farm was raided by DATCP officials accompanied by local law enforcement officers.Hershberger said he and his attorney, Elizabeth Rich of Plymouth, have talked with Clark about his bill. Hershberger said Thursday that “depending on how things go, we might work with him some more.”“What he is trying to do is get a statute into law that correlates to my trial,” Hershberger said, meaning no need for a permit or license to operate a buyer’s club that sells unpasteurized dairy products.Rich said she appreciates Clark’s efforts to support farmers like Hershberger.“I think the bill as proposed includes extensive involvement by DATCP in the buyers club. And that’s the area that needs some work,” Rich said. “Neither party wants extensive involvement by the state.”

]]>Tue, 20 Aug 2013 21:54:14 GMThttp://www.vernonhershberger.com/in-the-news/hershberger-hosts-ice-cream-social-on-farmBy Heidi Clausen, Regional Editor | clausen@amerytel.net | 0 commentsIt’s not often that someone found guilty of a crime throws a party for the jurors who convicted him, but that’s exactly what Sauk County dairy farmer Vernon Hershberger did last weekend.Hershberger was convicted in May of a misdemeanor related to violating a holding order on products in his on-farm store after a 2010 raid of his Grazin’ Acres farm by state government officials.He was fined $1,000 plus court costs of about $500.He also was acquitted of three other criminal charges in the case for producing, processing and selling milk without proper state licenses.Hershberger was found not guilty of operating a retail store, not guilty of operating a dairy plant and not guilty of not having a valid milk producer license.

Show of support

About 100 of Hershberger’s supporters, including national and local food-freedom activists, attended the “victory celebration” Aug. 17 at Hershberger’s Loganville farm.“It was nice to see how many people truly supported Vernon,” said Michele Hopp of Merrimac — one of three jurors out of the dozen from Hershberger’s trial who attended.“They gave us an opportunity at the very beginning to speak, which I wasn’t expecting,” Hopp said.She said they answered several questions about the trial and its aftermath.“There were a lot of questions about procedure and how deliberations went,” Hopp said. “One of the best questions was ‘How has this changed you?’ My answer was it made me realize that everybody can make a difference. I encouraged people to write letters and open their mouths and speak about every topic of importance to them.”She said she and her husband brought three of their grandchildren to see a working dairy farm and bought a couple of baby rabbits.Hopp said she had expected the social to be a more joyous event, but it seemed a bit subdued because of last week’s guilty verdict in central Minnesota, where farmer Alvin Schlangen was charged with improperly handling and illegally selling food without a license.Officials from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, who tried to shut down Hershberger’s operation, also were invited to the social, which featured vanilla ice cream from Castle Rock Organic Farms in Osseo.The main purpose of the day, which included music, hayrides and children’s games, was to raise money to help Hershberger rebuild a machine shed destroyed in a fire shortly before the trial this spring.All proceeds from the day’s auction were expected to go toward the rebuilding effort.

Since the trial, some jurors, including Hopp, have visited Hershberger’s farm and signed up for his buying club, which includes about 200 members who invest in the cows from which they receive their milk.A Chicago native, Hopp said consuming unpasteurized dairy products has taken some getting used to, but she believes in its health benefits.“I have raw milk products in my refrigerator. … It still freaks me out a bit,” she said.However, she said she’s confident in its safety because she knows the farmer who produced it.“Vernon is clearly a very conscientious farmer,” she said.Hopp said she hopes Hershberger is successful in his appeal to overturn the guilty ruling that he violated a hold order state ag officials had placed on his products.“It has finally hit (Hershberger) that he’s labeled a criminal due to the misdemeanor charge. It doesn’t sit well with him,” she said.A team of attorneys retained by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund filed the appeal July 2.

Raw milk debate imminentThe Hershberger verdict seemed to energize Wisconsin’s raw milk supporters, and there have been several attempts in the state continue reading]]>